Trump drops the ball at summit with Putin
He looked unprepared and unpresidential.
Yes, it was a setup, but still President Trump failed miserably in his first stab at diplomacy with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Russian leader came away from the summit as the alpha male in the room, easily besting his American counterpart.
This wasn’t a summit so much as it was a televised trouncing, with Trump coming away the big loser. The president showed way too much deference to Putin, a sharp contrast with how he’s treated some of our allies.
Trump should have known days ago, when special counsel Robert Mueller charged 12 Russian intelligence officers with conspiring to hack into DNC servers, that the summit with Putin would be dominated by questions about election hacking.
Yes, the timing of the Mueller indictments was suspicious, but the president could have easily dealt with the question by repeating what his own intelligence officials have been telling him, that it was the Russians who tried to meddle in the election. He could have said if it was true, Russia should pay a price.
What’s the worst Putin could have done, glare at him?
Instead, Trump said this: “I don’t see any reason why it would be (the Russians).”
Really? Even after the Russian president admitted that he wanted Trump to win?
Putin had to be laughing to himself. He got away scot-free — courtesy of Trump.
Putin was even able to get in a joke about the so-called Steele dossier, the Clinton campaign generated document that attempts to portray Trump as a crude sex deviant. No doubt it was funny to Putin, but he shouldn’t have been allowed to get away with the joke.
Trump should have known then this summit was a farce, and when Putin handed him the soccer ball, he could have tried to bounce it off the Russian leader’s head.
But instead the president stubbornly continued to defend Russia and Putin.
When Putin made the ridiculous suggestion that both countries could cooperate on the cyberattack investigation, Trump unwisely took the bait.
“I think that’s an incredible offer,” Trump said.
Wrong answer again. What Trump should have said was thanks, but no thanks, we can handle it, Vladimir.
And when Putin called Trump “Donald” — a sign of disrespect that Trump’s foes usually use — the president should have responded in kind, calling Putin “Vlad.”
But instead, Trump said this: ”President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.”
Hey Donald, that’s called lying. That’s what dictators do.